


Starlight, Star Bright

by mainstreamelectricalparade



Series: Hardest Lessons (Softest Results) [6]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Gen, Iron Man 1, Kid Peter Parker, Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker is Tony Stark's Biological Child, Precious Peter Parker, Separation Anxiety
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-24
Updated: 2018-11-24
Packaged: 2019-08-28 10:16:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16721430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mainstreamelectricalparade/pseuds/mainstreamelectricalparade
Summary: “Hey, Pete, how mad does Pepper look?” Tony said around a mouthful of screws.Peter looked, and giggled. “You better hide, Daddy,” he said, his nose scrunching adorably.“Your flight was scheduled to leave an hour and a half ago,” Pepper continued, coming around so that she was in Tony's line of vision.Well, crap. Tony had forgotten about the Jericho presentation in Afghanistan.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a two-parter set during the beginning of the first Iron Man movie! Peter is still Tony's son, and he's six years old because I'm setting the movie in 2008, when it came out.
> 
> Some of the dialogue is taken right from the movie, with some alterations to fit Peter in, because I didn't want to change too much about it. Besides, the dialogue in that movie is SO GOOD, it's so much fun. I had to include some.
> 
> Also, in case anyone is even remotely worried, I'm not going to write out the Afghanistan stuff. The first chapter ends with Tony leaving, and the next one focuses on Peter waiting at home for his dad. Afghanistan stays in the movie.

Tony had worked the night away in his home workshop again. He had attended an awards thingy that evening, and it had been so completely boring compared to the night in he had _wanted_ to have (pizza night and tinkering in the lab with Peter) that he had gone straight downstairs almost as soon as he got home, only stopping to change into casual clothes and check on Peter, who was already in bed when Tony got back.

The only reason Tony knew when it was morning (as in, normal human wake-up time) was because JARVIS started talking for a reason other than rattling off project specs when Tony asked for them.

“Sir, Peter has been awake for fifteen minutes and is requesting entry to the workshop.”

Tony looked up, blinking a little. “What time is it?” If it was the middle of the night and Peter had a nightmare, he would need to have a talk with JARVIS about the Do Not Disturb setting. (Mainly, reminding him that Peter+nightmares=HUGE EXCEPTION.)

“It is 8:18 AM, sir.”

Tony let out a sigh of relief. “Let him in, JAR.”

“Right away, sir.”

The glass door unlocked remotely, and within moments Tony could just see it open and close over the top of his computer screen as he put everything away. He was working on something for the military, he didn't want Peter anywhere near it.

“Daddy?” a still-sleepy little voice called from near the door.

“I'm here, Petey, just a minute,” Tony called back, shoving the last of his tools in a drawer and going to find his son, wiping his hands on a rag.

Peter had wandered a short way into the maze of the workshop looking for Tony, and Tony found him standing near DUM-E and Butterfingers' charging stations. He was still wearing his pajamas, but Tony noted proudly that he had taken the time to put on a pair of Velcro sneakers (mismatched, Tony realized with a fond pang); Tony and Pepper were constantly having to remind him to wear shoes in the workshop, in case there was something sharp on the floor.

Tony came up behind Peter and caught him around the middle with one arm, tickling him just a little bit to make him squeal and giggle. “There you are, you little adventurer,” he teased, swinging Peter up high enough that he squealed again, then settling him on his hip and holding him so they were face to face. “Sleep good?”

“Mmhmm,” Peter said, nodding so hard that the curls on his forehead bounced.

“Good,” Tony said, craning his neck to kiss Peter on the cheek. “How about some breakfast?”

“Yeah!” Peter cheered.

Tony wasn't really hungry, but he ate breakfast with Peter anyway, just because it didn't make sense not to; he hadn't eaten since the night before and he probably should. Besides, six was probably a little too young for Peter to learn that sometimes people forgot to eat for twelve hours or more at a time. Tony also took the opportunity to make himself a pot of coffee, which would probably be gone by noon.

After they ate, Tony sent Peter to get dressed, helping where needed (Peter didn't quite have the dexterity yet for things like buttons and zippers and shoelaces), then Peter followed him back down to the workshop, so instead of going back to the military project from before, Tony pulled out one of the side projects that had no potential for hurting Peter in any way.

Peter loved watching Tony work, and even though Tony wasn't sure how much the six year old understood, he was always happy to answer any questions Peter had. Sometimes Tony would let him help with small things, like twisting a screw in or fitting something into place.

Tony worked while Peter watched for quite a while.

Then Pepper spoiled their fun.

She came bursting into the lab, looking as exasperated as ever. Tony's back was to her, but Peter could see her.

“Tony!” Pepper called.

 _Crap_.

“Hey, Pete, how mad does Pepper look?” Tony said around a mouthful of screws.

Peter looked, and giggled. “You better hide, Daddy,” he said, his nose scrunching adorably.

“Your flight was scheduled to leave an hour and a half ago,” Pepper continued, coming around so that she was in Tony's line of vision.

Well, crap. Tony had forgotten about the Jericho presentation in Afghanistan.

“That's funny, I thought with it being my plane and all, that it would just wait for me to get there. Why are you trying to hustle me out of here?” Tony said, still focusing on his work and going for his best “I careth not” attitude.

Pepper fixed him with a Look. “I need to speak to you about a couple things before I get you out of the door.”

“Hi, Aunt Pepper!” Peter piped up, waving cheerfully from his perch on the workbench.

Pepper looked at him and her face softened for a minute. “Hi, Peter.” She turned back to Tony. “Tony.”

“Doesn't it kind of defeat the whole purpose of having your own plane if it departs before you arrive?” Tony grumbled, still not looking up.

“Larry called. He's got another buyer for the Jackson Pollock in the wings. Do you want it? Yes or no.” Pepper plowed forward.

“Is it a good representation of his spring period?”

“No. The Springs was actually the neighborhood in East Hampton where he lived and worked, not 'spring' like the season.”

“So?”

“I think it's a fair example. I think it's incredibly overpriced.”

“I need it,” Tony decided. “Buy it. Store it.”

Pepper rolled her eyes. “Ok. The MIT commencement speech-”

Tony groaned. “In in _June_. Please, don't harangue me about stuff that's way, way down-”

“They're haranguing me, so I'm going to say yes,” Pepper interrupted.

“Deflect it and absorb it. Don't transmit it back to me,” Tony complained.

Pepper held out her clipboard. “I need you to sign this before you get on the plane.”

Tony looked at it. “What are you trying to get rid of me for? What, you got plans?”

“As a matter of fact, I do.”

“I don't like it when you have plans.”

“I'm allowed to have plans on my birthday,” Pepper said, and Tony was amazed that she managed to sound patient, if a little long-suffering, when she said it.

He blinked. “It's your birthday?”

“Happy birthday!” Peter crowed, kicking his feet happily.

Pepper smiled at Peter. “Thank you.” To Tony she added, “Yes. It is.”

“I knew that,” Tony said dumbly. And technically he did, he was just really bad at remembering anyone's birthday that wasn't Peter's, including his own. “Already?”

“Yeah. Isn't that strange?” Pepper said sarcastically. “It's the same day as last year.”

“Get yourself something nice from me,” Tony offered.

“I already did,” Pepper said, smiling slightly.

“And?”

“It was very nice.”

“Yeah?”

“Very tasteful. Thank you, Mr. Stark.”

“You're welcome, Miss Potts.”

They were both smiling a little bit now.

“Aunt Pepper, hug!” Peter demanded, reaching out to her. “Birthday hug!”

Pepper relented, going to Peter and allowing him to hug her tightly, returning the gesture and kissing the top of his head for good measure. “Thank you, Peter. You give great hugs.”

“You're welcome!” Peter said. Then he frowned. “Does Daddy have to go away?”

“Yeah, does he?” Tony added, easily prepared to pout about it just as much as the six year old if he felt like it.

Pepper fixed Tony with the Look again, but when she bent just enough to get eye level with Peter, her expression was gentle.

“You remember how we talked about it last week, Peter?” she reminded the little boy. “We're gonna go with your dad to the airport, and I'll stay here with you while he does his presentation, and he'll be back in a few days. Is that ok?”

Peter looked like he desperately wanted to say “no”, turning his big brown eyes on Tony sadly. Tony's heart melted and he reached over to scoop Peter up.

“It's only for a couple days, baby,” Tony said softly. “I'll be back before you know it, ok?”

Peter was still frowning, but he nodded. Tony swooped in to kiss him on the cheek, then blew a raspberry there to see if he could get a giggle out of the pouty boy. It worked, even if only briefly.

\---

Rhodey was (admittedly rightfully) irritated when Pepper and Happy finally ushered Tony onto the tarmac. “What's wrong with you?” he demanded, meeting them halfway.

“What?” Tony said, holding a rather subdued Peter with one arm and making an innocent “who, me?” gesture with the other.

“Three hours,” Rhodey stressed, glaring at him.

Tony shrugged and patted Peter's leg. “Clingy babies,” he explained, “you know how it goes.” Peter's head was resting heavily on Tony's shoulder and he'd barely said a word since they had gotten in the car. He didn't even protest being called a baby.

“And distracted daddies,” Pepper added under her breath. Rhodey glanced at Peter, who waved at him, and had to crack a smile despite his annoyance. Tony waved them off and knelt on the asphalt so he could put Peter down and say goodbye for the next few days.

As soon as his feet were on the ground, Peter threw his arms tightly around Tony.

“I miss you,” he whined, his voice muffled into Tony's blazer.

At first Tony thought maybe he dropped a syllable trying to say “I'll”, like he used to do all the time when he was a toddler, but then he remembered that despite being able to go to school, or let Tony go to work, for a few hours every day, Peter wasn't quite over all his separation anxiety, and when Tony had to go somewhere for longer than a few hours, he had a tendency to miss his dad before he was even out the door.

It was a little adorable, a little heartbreaking.

Tony ran a hand through Peter's hair soothingly. “A couple days, Petey, remember that. I bet I'll be home in time to tuck you in on Monday, at the latest.”

He didn't _promise_ , because with trips like this it was hard to set a definite return time, but he and Peter liked taking guesses, and more often than not they at least came within the right time frame.

It was Saturday. Peter scrunched his face up, like that was still too long for his liking, but he nodded. “Ok,” he mumbled.

“Big hug, come on,” Tony said, tugging Peter close again. Little arms wrapped around his neck and soft hair tickled his cheek, and he committed the feeling to memory to hold onto for the next few days.

Between the two of them Peter was the one who had separation anxiety, but Tony never claimed not to be a little clingy himself.

Finally Tony figured if Rhodey had to wait any longer to get the plane in the air he might spontaneously combust, so he gently pulled away from Peter. Peter whined a little bit, but let Pepper take his hand and keep him at her side while Rhodey herded Tony onto the plane.

“For three hours,” Rhodey said, making Tony walk in front of him. “For three hours you got me standing there.”

“Waiting on you now. Let's go. Come on,” Tony said, already through the plane door and turning around long enough to wave at Peter before he was being asked to take a seat.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> His teacher said that some people believe that stars are magic, and they can grant wishes if you make one on the first star you see. Peter's dad didn't believe in magic, but magic wishes always came true in Peter's favorite movies, so why shouldn't they come true in real life?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The second and final part of this installment! I'm really proud of this fic, especially since it was my first one (I posted "Domestic Life" first but I wrote this one first). I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> Once again, a bit of dialogue from the movie was used (a LOT less than last chapter, though, but I just had to include the Tony/Pepper banter in that one, it's so good) and a couple scenes are referenced/described.

Peter's daddy had guessed Monday.

Peter stayed awake for hours on Monday night after Aunt Pepper left his room.

Uncle Rhodey got back on Tuesday morning, and Peter's daddy hadn't been with him.

He hadn't guessed wrong in a really long time.

Rhodey and Aunt Pepper talked for a long time, in a room with the door closed so Peter couldn't hear them. When they finally came out, they both looked sad. Peter had been standing right outside the door the whole time, and when Pepper saw him she sniffled and leaned down to pick him up, even though she usually told him he was getting too big for her to to carry. She brought him over to the couch and sat down with him in her lap.

Peter let Pepper hold him in silence for a while, cradling his head with one hand and holding him around the middle with the other, but finally he couldn't take it anymore and sat back.

“Why are you crying? Where's Daddy?”

Pepper bit her lip and didn't respond, looking to Rhodey instead.

Rhodey sighed sadly and sat down next to Pepper, holding his arms out for Peter. Peter let himself be transferred, waiting patiently for the answer to his question.

Once Rhodey had settled Peter on his lap, he took a deep breath.

“Your dad,” he started slowly, “has to stay in Afghanistan for a while. He, uh... He wandered off by himself and won't tell anybody where he is.” He paused. “Do you like hide and seek, Peter?”

Peter nodded slowly.

Rhodey took another breath. “Well, your dad is... sort of playing hide and seek. And he's _really_ good at hiding. We haven't found him yet.”

Peter wrinkled his nose, because his daddy was always really _bad_ at hiding when they played together. He didn't say that to Rhodey, though.

“How long will it take to find him?” Peter asked, his voice small.

Rhodey swallowed. “I don't know, Pete. It could be soon, or it could be...” He cleared his throat. “It could take a while.”

“A while” usually meant “a long time”. Peter didn't like that answer. His face scrunched up, and he tried not to, but he started crying, just a little bit. He hid his face in Rhodey's neck and let a whine escape him while he could muffle it in Rhodey's shirt.

Rhodey rested his cheek on top of Peter's head. “I'm sorry, Peter,” he whispered into Peter's hair. “I'm gonna do everything I can to find him, I promise.”

Peter believed him, but it was still hard to be anything but sad.

\---

There weren't a lot of stars in Malibu, but there were enough to make a special secret star wish.

The first few nights after Rhodey told Peter his daddy couldn't come home yet, Peter cried himself to sleep. Pepper would sit with him as long as it took for him to tire himself out, looking a little like she wanted to cry, herself. She never did, though. She just stroked Peter's back and finger-combed his hair in the vain hope of soothing him, even a tiny bit.

Peter got the idea to make star wishes when his teacher taught his class the wish rhyme:

 _Starlight, star bright_  
_First star I see tonight_  
_Wish I may, wish I might  
_ _Have the wish I wish tonight_

His teacher said that some people believe that stars are magic, and they can grant wishes if you make one on the first star you see. Peter's dad didn't believe in magic, but magic wishes always came true in Peter's favorite movies, so why shouldn't they come true in real life?

Peter asked his teacher if he was allowed to make star wishes. His teacher said that anyone could, but they had to remember that stars are very busy, and the wishes might not come true right away.

“Stars are stars, not genies,” his teacher said, smiling.

So now at night, instead of crying, Peter went to his window after Pepper left his room and searched the sky for a star. As soon as he saw one, he whispered the rhyme, and then made his wish:

 _I wish for Daddy to come home_.

His teacher was right, it didn't happen right away. Peter was careful not to tell anyone, not even Pepper. (He was pretty sure JARVIS knew, but if he did he didn't say anything.) He made his wish every single night, and he went to bed believing the star could hear him.

\---

Rhodey went back and forth between home and Afghanistan a lot. Every time he came back, he looked a little more discouraged, but whenever Peter was around he acted like everything was ok.

After the first month went by, Peter wondered a little bit why his star wishes weren't working. He was patient, though, and kept making them.

After the second month, Peter stopped making wishes. He just sat up in bed at night and looked at his wish star through the window. He didn't say anything to the star, he just looked at it, sometimes until the sky was light enough that he couldn't see it anymore, and then he finally fell asleep out of pure exhaustion.

The bad dreams started during the second month, too.

Peter started to wake up in the middle of the night crying, and sometimes he even screamed. Pepper always came running to soothe him. One night she tried to ask him about it.

“What was your dream about, Peter?” she asked gently, brushing his hair off his forehead and holding him close while he tried to calm down.

The problem was, Peter could never remember his dreams, just the feelings he had. “I don't know!” he wailed. “I want Daddy!”

Pepper was quiet for a minute. “Me too,” she whispered. She started to rock Peter slowly, swaying side to side. The motion helped him fall asleep, but he still didn't sleep well.

\---

It was getting close to being three months since Tony went missing. Pepper was worried, not only about him but about Peter. The little boy was so homesick for his father that he could barely sleep, and he was starting to take immense amounts of coaxing every mealtime to eat more than a couple bites.

One evening, Pepper was making dinner. She had decided to try making Peter's favorite, mac 'n' cheese with spinach and homemade cheese sauce, like Tony made (or at least similar to what Tony made), to see if he might be willing to eat more of it without prompting.

Pepper's phone rang and she answered while she waited for the pasta to cook.

“Pepper Potts,” she said as a greeting.

“ _Pep, it's Rhodey_.”

“Rhodey, hi,” Pepper said warmly, glancing into the other room to check on Peter; he was still sitting on the floor playing with his Duplo set (he wasn't allowed to play with normal LEGOs by himself yet, which he thought was dumb; he wasn't going to _eat_ them). “How are you doing?”

Rhodey was quiet for a few seconds, and Pepper thought maybe the connection dropped, but before she could check he spoke up. “ _We think we've found where he's being held_ ,” he said. He spoke slowly, but Pepper could hear the excitement around the edges of his voice. “ _Might be bringing him home soon_.”

“Oh, my god,” Pepper gasped, putting her hand over her mouth. “Really?”

“ _Yeah. But, listen, don't tell anyone just yet, especially Peter. We're not 100% sure, and we don't want to get anyone's hopes up too high in case we're wrong_.”

“Right, of course, I won't say a word,” Pepper said, lowering her voice. “God, I hope you're right.”

“ _Me, too_ ,” Rhodey admitted. “ _I'll keep you updated, I've gotta go now_.”

“Ok. Thank you so much, Rhodey. Talk to you soon,” Pepper said.

“ _Yeah. Bye, Pepper_.”

“Bye.”

Pepper put her phone down. Her hands were shaking slightly, and she leaned against the counter as she tried to collect herself.

She _really_ hoped Rhodey was right.

\---

A couple days later, Rhodey called again. Pepper had just come out of Peter's room for the night; she had taken to sitting up with him whether he was crying or not, just until he fell asleep. It meant less sleep for her, especially if he had a nightmare, but it was worth it if it helped even a little bit.

Pepper answered her phone as she sat down on the couch. “Rhodey,” she said breathlessly. “Do you-?”

“ _We've got him_ ,” Rhodey confirmed. He sounded a little emotional. “ _We've got him, we're gonna patch him up on the plane, we're bringing him home_.”

Pepper didn't have the energy to say anything, she just slumped down and let out a whooshing breath.

“Is he ok?” she said finally.

“ _He's..._ ” Rhodey hesitated. “ _Different. Physically. Just a bit. But he's still himself and he'll be absolutely fine, so don't you worry. Plane's landing at noon your time, you'll have plenty of time to get ready and be there when it does._ ”

“Oh, god, Peter will be so excited,” Pepper whispered.

“ _Yeah._ ” Rhodey paused, like he was thinking about something. “ _Hey, maybe don't tell him everything? Just say... I've got a present for him, don't tell him it's Tony. Let him be surprised. It'll be fun, I think_.”

Pepper considered this. She smiled. “Ok.”

\---

“A present? What is it?” Peter asked, curious.

Pepper smiled mysteriously. “I think Rhodey called it a _super secret special surprise_ ,” she said.

Peter wiggled in his car seat. Rhodey was _really_ good at super secret special surprises.

Happy was driving Pepper and Peter to the air base to meet Rhodey's plane. Pepper refused to tell Peter very much about the surprise, but even she was excited about it, so it must be _really_ cool.

Ten minutes later, Pepper and Happy stood on the tarmac. Pepper had Peter hoisted up on her hip, because there were a _lot_ of people there today, reporters and cameramen and military security. Peter wondered what was happening that so many people needed to be there for.

When the plane finally landed, it took a few minutes for the door to open, and when it did, so many people swarmed around that Peter couldn't see anything.

“Where's Uncle Rhodey?” he demanded. “I can't see-”

Peter stopped talking when the security people pushed the crowd back and cleared the walkway again, revealing Uncle Rhodey standing across the tarmac with-

“ _DADDY_!” Peter yelled, his eyes wide with rapidly increasing excitement. He wriggled in Pepper's arms until she had to put him down, and she let him run across the tarmac all by himself to get to his dad.

“Careful, Peter,” Uncle Rhodey warned when he realized Peter wasn't going to slow down, but Peter's dad gave him a dirty look and crouched down, holding one arm out for Peter and angling the other one away from himself to avoid impact. Peter vaguely noticed the sling on that arm as he threw his arms around his dad's neck and hugged him as tightly as he could.

\---

Just before the plane landed, Rhodey dropped the bomb (ooh. Bad. Bad choice of words considering recent events) that Peter would be there waiting for them. Tony had nearly broken down crying again upon hearing that; he had waited three months to hold his baby again, and he was _going to_ , arm sling be damned. The hug he had gotten when he left three months ago hadn't been _nearly_ enough to hold him over. He was going through serious baby (child, whatever) withdrawals.

The reporters swarmed as soon as Tony was even one step off the plane, which was irritating, because Tony just wanted to see his kid, but the crowd was corralled quickly, clearing a big open path for a little boy with wild brown curls and eyes just like Tony's to come barreling through.

Peter's shrill yell of “ _DADDY_!” was the best thing Tony had heard in months.

Peter wasn't the best runner usually, and Tony had never seen his son move so fast in his life. Rhodey told Peter to be careful, but Tony gave him his best “shut up, Platypus” look and knelt down to catch Peter with his good arm.

The impact hurt a little bit, but Tony didn't care at all. He wrapped his good arm tightly around Peter's little body and lifted him up so that he was standing again.

“Oh, god, I missed you so much, baby,” Tony breathed, holding Peter as close as he could. Peter's little legs wrapped around his waist to hold on better; Tony's little octopus baby.

“Daddy, my star wish came true,” Peter whispered into Tony's neck. “I stopped makin' 'em because I thought it wasn't working, but it _did_. Uncle Rhodey brought you back.”

His little voice was quivering, and Tony could feel that he was moments away from crying, himself, so he held Peter tighter and started walking to where he could see Pepper and Happy waiting. Rhodey followed closely, probably expecting him to fall over or something.

Pepper wiped at her eyes subtly.

“Your eyes are red,” was the first thing Tony said to her, mostly to cover up his own emotions. “A few tears for your long-lost boss?”

“Tears of joy,” she shot back. “I hate job hunting.”

“Yeah, vacation's over,” he said.

“Didn't mind the babysitting, though.”

“I bet,” Tony replied, mumbling a little, a bit preoccupied now with nuzzling and kissing Peter's hair repeatedly.

Peter shifted in Tony's arms and pulled back just enough that he could look at Tony. “Daddy, can we go home?”

Tony was about to say that he would love nothing more, but Pepper intercepted.

“You should really get checked out,” she said. “Professionally. Not that I don't trust the Air Force's medical skills.”

“Nah, I'm fine,” Tony said, trying to convey with his eyes that she should stop talking before she scared Peter. She ignored him and got in the car. Tony rolled his eyes and followed, still holding Peter.

Technically Peter's car seat was right there, and he should have sat in it, but Tony wasn't ready to let him go just yet, and obviously neither was Peter, so despite Happy and Pepper's protests, Tony held Peter in his lap and buckled the seat belt over both of them. He pressed his nose into Peter's soft curls and breathed in the still-babyish scent. It smelled freshly shampooed; Pepper must have given him a bath in preparation for Tony's return.

“Where to, sir?” Happy asked.

“Take us to the hospital, please, Happy-” Pepper started.

“No,” Tony repeated.

“No? Tony you have to-”

“No is a complete answer.”

“The doctor has to look at you.”

“I don't have to do anything,” Tony said loudly, pressing Peter's head to his chest with a hand over Peter's ear, carefully avoiding the arc reactor in his chest. “I've been in captivity for three months. There are three things I want to do. I want an American cheeseburger-”

Pepper rolled her eyes.

“-I want to go home and watch movies with Peter until he falls asleep on me-”

“I won't fall asleep,” Peter grumbled.

“Yes you will, kiddo, you're notorious,” Tony said fondly, kissing the top of Peter's head. “And before I do _that_ , I want you to call for a press conference now.”

“Call for a press conference?” Pepper repeated, her voice full of disbelief.

“Yeah.”

“What on earth for?”

Tony leaned up and patted Happy's seat back. “Happy, drive. Cheeseburger first.”

\---

Obie was waiting when they got out of the car for the impromptu press conference. They talked a bit as they walked in, but Tony's mouth was full of cheeseburger and his arms were full of his son, whom he still refused to put down. Peter seemed perfectly content with this arrangement.

Tony started the press conference sitting on the floor, still munching a cheeseburger, his legs crossed to let Peter sit between them. He shut down the weapons division of the company, caused a riot, blah blah, then he quit while he was ahead and fled the scene when the reporters started asking questions, letting Obie deal with it so he could go home and start that movie marathon he had promised Peter.

Obie caught up to him before he could get away. They argued back and forth for a minute, not really listening to each other very much, and finally Tony made an escape and _got the hell out of there_ , jeez, you'd think he had just done something controversial.

He had. He absolutely had. But he would deal with that later. Or, more accurately, he'd have everyone else deal with that later. For now: Movies. Baby snuggles. A well-earned nap.

(Peter would protest that he wasn't a baby. He would lose that argument. He was _Tony's_ baby.)

Tony didn't put Peter down until they got home. (Man, was it good to hear JARVIS' voice again.) Even then, when he did, it was only so they could change into comfy clothes – sweats and an old t-shirt for Tony, a soft footless onesie for Peter despite the May heat outside.

They got settled on the couch to start a movie, but before they could, Peter gingerly tapped the arc reactor glowing through Tony's shirt.

“What's that?”

Tony hesitated, trying to think of a way to explain it that wouldn't scare his son. He pulled his shirt collar down low enough to show Peter what it looked like, thankful the scars had healed enough not to look so scary anymore. “Daddy got a little hurt in Afghanistan,” he started slowly. “This is gonna keep my heart healthy.”

“For how long?” Peter asked.

Tony booped Peter's nose gently. “Forever,” he said, as playful as he could to make it seem less serious than it was.

Peter's eyes went wide. “Forever and _ever_?”

“And ever and ever and ever,” Tony said, reaching for Peter's tummy and tickling him until he was giggling so much he forgot all about the arc reactor.

A few hours later, Tony was still on the couch. Peter was still in his lap. Movies were still playing on the TV, but Tony wasn't paying attention anymore. He was watching the little boy sleeping on his lap, chest to chest, drooling slightly on Tony's t-shirt, eyelashes occasionally fluttering against sleep-rosy round cheeks. Peter still snuffled in his sleep sometimes, just like he did in the hospital the day he was born. It wasn't quite snoring, but it wasn't as quiet as regular nose breathing. It remained one of Tony's favorite sounds to this day.

This was what had kept Tony going in that cave: the thought of coming home to Peter and being able to do this again. This was his whole world.

Tony heard Pepper's heels clicking softly before he saw her.

“Pause, JARVIS,” he said softly, so that the movie stopped just as Pepper walked in. She stopped in the doorway and smiled at the sight before her.

“That's better,” she whispered.

Something about the way she said it caught Tony's attention. Without looking away from Peter's sleeping face he asked, “What do you mean?”

Pepper's smile turned a little sad. “He barely slept while you were gone,” she said, coming and sitting down near Tony, but not right next to him.

Tony had a feeling he wouldn't like this story.

Pepper continued. “He cried almost every night. At first he cried himself to sleep, then that turned into waking up crying. He missed you so much, Tony, it was heartbreaking to watch.”

It was heartbreaking to hear, too. Tony combed his fingers through Peter's hair soothingly, even though Peter was fine now. He pressed a kiss to Peter's forehead, then one to his hair for good measure.

“I'm sorry, baby,” he whispered into the soft curls tickling his nose. “I'm never gonna go away again, I promise. Daddy's staying right here.”

Tony did his best to ignore the fact that it probably wasn't a reasonable promise.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That wasn't too bad, was it? Y'all were, like. Sweating in last chapter's comments sdfhgfjshd sorry not sorry.
> 
> Find me on Tumblr and Instagram! @riseuplikeglitterandgold

**Author's Note:**

> I really really like this fic, so I hope you do too! I'm still writing "Baby's Firsts", I just want to post other stuff sometimes, too, and when I asked a lot of people seemed interested. So here it is!
> 
> Find me on Tumblr and Instagram! @riseuplikeglitterandgold


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